A wee evaluative study of the academic orientation
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A Wee Evaluative Study of the Academic Orientation of Lagos
State Junior Secondary School Teachers
Ife Abodunrin, PhD, Oshun G.O, PhD and Folawi, R. A. M. Ed
Faculty of Education, Lagos State Univertsity, Ojo
Abstract
This study investigated the academic orientation of Junior Secondary School teachers in Lagos, Nigeria, using
384 participants that were sampled from the States’ six Educational Districts. It focused on the quality,
magnitudes and differences existing among teachers on the basis of their discipline and the Education District
where they teach. Academic orientation for teachers in Arts/Religion Departments was found to be slightly
higher than for all other Departments. Teachers in Educational District 5 had the highest mean, followed closely
by Educational District 6. The range of scores for all the districts was 0.55, SD=0.261. In general, the
classification of ratings of teachers’ academic orientation yielded a value of 5.03, which, by the rating scale of
COC-B, the instrument that was used for data gathering, translate to “fair” performance. Using Multivariate
analysis of Variance to test the hypothesis for the study, no statistically significant difference was observed in
the academic orientation of Lagos State Junior Secondary School teacher irrespective of their discipline and the
educational district where they work. It is suggested that attention be paid to the retraining of teachers, and that
prospective teachers be trained before they take on the job if teachers would be expected to fulfil their roles in
the transformation agenda of this nation.
Keywords: Academic orientation; conceptual orientation; subject-matter specialist.
INTRODUCTION
Introduction and Background
The value of any decision made or to be made depend largely on the accuracy of information upon which it is
based. A well-defined conceptual framework, which exposes the central tasks of any given programme, is
certainly one of the best tools that would help in making teaching/learning effectiveness to be determined in a
most objective manner (Volante & Fazio (2007), Abodunrin, 2003; 2007; Volante & Earl, 2004). Effective
teachers would be those who not only love their subject but as well are enhanced to deal with a climate of
continual change in which distance learning and other teaching media will become more prevalent. They are the
ones who work to make what is now the best become the standard for all, allowing for a shift in culture so that
real team working is valued, and mutual feedback – through lesson observation or other means – is embraced as
an essential part of professional development (Grant, 2009; McBer, 2000).
It is worthy of note that at the end of their 50th
National Conference (2011), the African National Congress,
South Africa’s National Liberation Movement’s resolutions on social transformation on [education] noted that
the ongoing restructuring of education in the country is fundamental to the social, political and economic
transformation of the country and that real progress should be achieved and consolidation of achievements in this
sector be harnessed as the new millennium is being approached. Thus it was resolved
1. That all parents and communities be urged to contribute in whatever manner to the enhancement of the
quality of education in schools;
2. To engage their allies and the public at large to ensure that they support the spirit and thrust of the
norms and standards on funding of schools;
3. To convene a summit of alliance partners and progressive forces to consider a strategic approach to
budget for the education and social sector as a whole, which should also ensure that government
continues consultation with the relevant stakeholders;
4. To participate in the campaign to build the Culture of Learning, Teaching and Service, to urge their
structures to actively work towards the transformation of the schools into centres of quality
educational activity and call on all structures of civil society, especially business, to support the
schools in whatever manner possible.
These expressions indicate the passion with which peoples around the world are geared towards the
transformation of their nations, if only words could be matched with actions. However, all of these rest on the
proper training of the youths who are bound to be leaders of tomorrow. Even then, the persons who are entrusted
with the enculturation, training and modeling for the youths are the teachers in the schools. These have to enjoy
proper attention and uncompromised training if the goals set by the nations should be attained.
The training and preparation of teachers in different parts of the world are indeed similar in content but
often not in the delivery or in scheduling of content. In Germany, for example, teacher education is subdivided
into three distinct phases: (1) a course of studies completed at a university, (2) subsequent 2-year practical
training in pre-service teacher training at schools (“Referendariat”), and (3) further education for in-service
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Different interpretations of these goals yield different ideas about how particular disciplines should be
taught. The academic orientation views effective teachers as those that have a solid understanding of the subject-
matter they teach and the means for transmitting this knowledge. The implication for teacher education is that
clear standards are needed to ensure pre-service candidates are well versed in their teaching disciplines. This is
particularly true at the secondary level where high school teachers are specialized to teach specific courses. In
sum, teacher education is expected to make teacher trainees to be able to
1. Transmit knowledge to students.
2. Assume the role of a scholar and intellectual leader.
3. Assume the role of a subject-matter specialist.
4. Acquire skills in the different ways of knowing and thinking.
5. Understand the structures of the disciplines.
These are the components of academic orientation of teachers.
In the Nigerian universities, the training of teachers is anchored at the faculty of education while most
of the academic disciplines are taught at cognate Faculties such as the Arts, Sciences, Languages, Business and
Social sciences, etc. most often, activities and schedules of lecture time table of the different Faculties may
conflict. These give the trainees a lot of stress. Most of the lecturers at the cognate Faculties are often not as
properly groomed to teach as the professional teachers at the Faculty of education. In many cases too, the need to
combine programmes of teacher education with those of the basic academic disciplines creates enormous
pressure on the students, severing their agility and performance. The severity in handling pattern often may also
be a basis for the inarticulate academic orientation of the trainees too.
Our society is bedevilled with cases of malpractice in all facets of life including education. Examination
malpractice is on the rise with a lift provided it by the improvement in information technology, which demeans
the effort of the teacher and students’ motivation for learning (Abodunrin, 2011; 2012). Perhaps, the poor
conceptual orientation of teachers is part of the reasons why students fail to do well in properly monitored
examinations. Though not jettisoning Aduwa’s (2004) assertions that student’s home environment, their
cognitive abilities, self-esteem, self- concept, study habits and motivation affect their academic success, Iyamu
(2005) contended that the provision of all these factors may not have significant impact on successful learning if
the learners are not exposed to competent principals, teachers and other school teams (Akinsolu, 2010).
In a similar vein, Ehrenberg and Brewer (1995) and Ferguson (1991) were emphatic that students learn
more from teachers with strong academic skills, while even the teachers’ qualification in respect of the subject
they teach is important as Darling- Hammond (2000) claimed that Middle and high school students learn more
from teachers who hold Bachelor’s or Master‘s degrees in the subjects they teach and from experienced teachers
than they do from less experienced ones. All these give strength to belief that the placement of only the right
employees in the right jobs, at the right time and places assist greatly in attainment of organizational set goals
and objectives (Egungun, 1992).
The situation in Nigeria is distressing as a study by the Education Sector Analysis Study on selected
secondary school teachers in Nigeria, which considered the qualifications and genders of the teachers revealed
that the bulk of secondary school teachers (n = 69,787) were graduates with first or higher degrees where, 43,073
were male and 26,714 were female. Among these teachers, 15,353 had no teaching qualification while the rest
were held the Associate Certificate in Education and TC II. Findings from this study, according to Akinsolu
(2010) revealed that the unqualified teachers’ proportion affects the quality of learning delivery in the sampled
schools. Indeed, there has always been the problem of shortage of teachers (Amoo, 1992).
The studies referenced here have made observations based on the academic qualification of the teachers
alone, which imprints on performance rather than during training rather than a thorough evaluation which goes
beyond mere performance. This study therefore is set to evaluate the academic orientation of teacher in Lagos
State Secondary schools, starting first with the Junior Secondary Schools irrespective of the teachers’
qualification, as a starting point to understanding the academic orientation as well as the sources of malpractices
and psycho-social problems in the schools.
The Problem of the Study
So much concern about the performance of scholars has been the focus of many painstaking researches over
decades and more. Akinsolu (2010), Iyamu (2005), opined that significant impact on successful learning is not
attainable, no matter what effort is put in place if the learners are not exposed to competent principals, teachers
and other school teams. Darling- Hammond (2000), Ehrenberg and Brewer (1995) and Ferguson (1991) were
emphatic that students learn more from teachers with strong academic skills, while even the teachers’
qualification in respect of the subject they teach is important. All these give strength to belief that the placement
of only the right employees in the right jobs, at the right time and places assist greatly in attainment of
organizational set goals and objectives (Egungun, 1992).
These are quite salient observations but in many cases, teacher education researches have been
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bedevilled by the lack of parameters upon which conclusions are made (Abodunrin, 2009). There are cases of
poor instrumentation and general methodology flaws, under efficient record keeping as well as poor research
driven decision making process. It is also such that makes excess number of certain facilities to be made
available in certain schools while at other places they languish in lack.
Certainly, in adjudging teachers’ competency, it is important to determine the overall purpose, which is
the balance of conceptual orientation of teacher trainees, practicing teachers, both professional and adjunct,
before making far reaching decisions. To commence such a task, it would be expedient to split the whole task
into smaller bits, whereby academic orientation of teachers in trainees in colleges and universities, as well as the
practicing ones, as a segment of the whole would be investigated to determine the extent of articulation attained
as a point of commencement towards a better understanding of the whole area of teacher orientation-conceptual
orientation. This certainly would provide specific understanding of aspects deserving retouch rather than the total
collapse of system approach that has seen us using as many as three systems of education within a decade
without due evaluation process and the colossal waste of public fund that had been involved.
The task of establishing the level of academic orientation of teachers in Lagos State is a task that cannot
be attained without a thorough investigation. Thus, it is the problem that has necessitated this study with the
intention to generate better evaluative information that would guide our knowledge of the health of the
educational enterprise.
Purpose of the Study
The goal set for this study to attain concerns establishing the academic orientation of Lagos State Secondary
Schools. In this way, the level of efficiency of the academic orientation of the training programmes that are
provided in the schools can be evaluated at least indirectly. Thus, the study focuses on the assessing the quality,
magnitudes and differences, while taking note of the differential and changes that exists among the five central
components of academic orientation of teachers in each one of, and among the different academic Departments
(disciplines) and Educational Districts where the teachers work.
The Research Questions
In order to ascertain that the purposes for which the study is undertaken is realised, thereby providing solution to
the problems of the study the following questions were asked:
1. What is the level of academic orientation of Lagos State Secondary School Teachers?
2. Are there differences in the level of academic orientation of Lagos State Secondary School
Teachers on the basis of
a. Departments (discipline)?
b. Educational Districts, where the teachers work?
Research Hypothesis
By its form, this study is a form of programme evaluation and performance assessment. For the purpose of
attempting at resolving the problems of the study as well as fulfilling its purpose, hence answering the research
questions, it was hypothesized that
The quality of academic orientation of junior secondary school teachers in Lagos State is expected
to be high and would vary by the teacher’s discipline- favouring those in the sciences- and
Educational District where the teacher works.
In order to be able to test the hypothesis statistically, the following null hypothesis was drawn:
There is no significant difference in the academic orientation of Lagos State Junior Secondary
School teacher irrespective of their discipline and the educational district where they work.
There is no significant difference in the academic orientation of Lagos State Lagos Senior Secondary School
teachers’ irrespective of their discipline and the educational district where they work.”
Methodology
Research Design
The study is an evaluation of the academic orientation of teachers in Lagos State Junior Secondary Schools. The
survey method was adopted in carrying out this study. This involves the incorporation of random sampling
technique to select the schools as well as the participants while the assessors, were purposively drawn. The
Conceptual Orientation Checklist-b (CO-b) was used in collecting the relevant data that was used in providing
answers to the two research questions as well as testing the null hypothesis for the study. Descriptive and
inferential statistical measures were used to attain this.
Population and Sample
The universe of schools and school teachers in Lagos State make up the population for the study, onto which the
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results was generalised. The sample was composed of a representative proportion of this population. To draw the
sample, Lagos State was divided into six zones based on the Educational Districts. From each of these, four
secondary schools were sampled (JSS=2; SSS=2). In all, 24 schools was sampled in the State (JSS=12; SSS=12).
There were two categories of participants:
a. Active participants. There were Heads of Departments at each of the schools four basic classification of
subject areas: Languages; Sciences; Social Sciences/Commercial studies; Arts and religion. These,
served as assessors who rated the performance of the staff who were under them. Four HODs was
sampled in each school, making 16 per Educational District and 96 in the State. Half of this was in the
junior secondary school while the other half was in the senior secondary school.
b. Inactive participants. These were teachers who had to be assessed, though without knowledge that they
were being investigated. Three of these were randomly sampled from each Department, with at most
one from each subject area. This makes 12 per school and 48 per Educational District and 288 in all.
In general, there were 384 participants in the study. Along with these were 6 proctors; each assigned to
cover each one of the Educational Districts.
The process of administration of instruments and data collection was at two levels:
The first level involves
a. Determining the sample to be made concerning the schools. This was randomly performed from the
list of public schools in the State.
b. Visiting the schools and obtaining permission from the respective institutions and the compliance
of the Heads of the Departments and obtaining the date of engagement where administering the
instrument was not feasible on the same date.
c. Collection of the instruments, collation and sorting.
Some Heads of Departments requested for more time to patiently assess teacher’s performance. As a result of
this, the administration and the collection of all the instruments lasted between one and three days.
Instrumentation
In order to obtain pertinent information for the study, the Test A of Teacher Training Conceptual Orientation
Inventory (TTCOP-2), which provided a reliability coefficient of .93 was used. This is a checklist that requires
the user to rate the quality of academic orientation of a teacher over a total mark of 10, where the minimum, 1
implies embarrassing and 10 signifies perfection. This was the second part of the instrument. The first part
requires the assessor to present personal information on the individual being assessed. Such information included
the school, subject being taught, highest educational qualification, and its quality (i.e. Class of degree) and years
of teaching experience. Evaluation, the process of determining the value or worth of a program, course, or other
initiative, toward the ultimate goal of making decisions about adopting, rejecting, or revising the innovation, is
more inclusive than mere assessment, which encompasses methods for measuring or testing performance on a set
of competencies. Thus, assessment data in addition to many other data sources apart from scholastic ability were
employed.
Data Scoring and Analysis
In scoring the data, the participants, in this case, the assessed teachers’ data were classified into two groups:
trained Teachers; and Untrained instructors. Each of the two categories was classified into the different grades of
their qualification, i.e. NCE/PGDE/B.Ed/M.Ed and Ph.D, for the trained; and Ordinary Diploma/Higher Diploma
and BSc/MSc and PhD, for the untrained. These arrangements were made at two levels: Junior secondary school
teachers and senior secondary school teachers.
To analyse the data, both descriptive and inferential statistical measures were used. These were
supplemented with tables and graphs.
Presentation of Results
The data collected in respect of the research hypothesis were scored with the independent variable being the
Departments (academic discipline) of the Educational District (where they work) of junior secondary school
Teachers in Lagos State. A Descriptive statistical analysis that was performed on the data provided the following
information:
Academic orientation for teachers in Arts/Religion Departments which had the highest mean (5.15)
indicated higher mean for teachers in District 2 followed by those in District 5, district 6, 4, 1, and 3 respectively.
The academic orientation of teachers in the science disciplines ranked next with a mean of 5.09. In this case,
teachers in district 2 had the highest mean, followed by District 5, 6, 4, 1 and 3 respectively. The academic
orientation of Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers in the Languages Department followed next (4.97),
with Language teachers in district 5 leading others, followed by teachers in district 6, then, 3, 4, 1 and then, 2,
respectively. The mean of Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers’ in Social Sciences/Commercial studies
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Department’s academic orientation was 4.91. Teachers in District 5 had the highest mean among the group with
District 3 teachers trailing after them, followed by District 4, 1, ad District 2 teachers respectively.
In general, the classification of ratings Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers’ academic
orientation for teachers of each of the four Departments (Disciplines), as well as for each of the Educational
Districts, had a mean of 5, which on the rating scale of COC-b, the instrument that was used for the study,
translate to “fair” performance. See Table 1 and Figure 1.
Table 1. Descriptive statistics table of Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers academic orientation
by their Department (Discipline) and Educational District.
Departments Educ. District Mean SD N
Languages 1.00 4.6667 .81650 6
2.00 4.6000 .54772 5
3.00 4.8333 .98319 6
4.00 4.8000 .83666 5
5.00 5.5000 .54772 6
6.00 5.4000 .89443 5
Total 4.9697 .80951 33
Arts/Religion 1.00 4.8333 .98319 6
2.00 5.6000 1.14018 5
3.00 4.5000 .83666 6
4.00 5.2000 .83666 5
5.00 5.5000 .83666 6
6.00 5.4000 .89443 5
Total 5.1515 .93946 33
Soc.SCs/Commercial 1.00 4.6000 .89443 5
2.00 4.1667 .98319 6
3.00 5.2000 1.09545 5
4.00 4.8333 .75277 6
5.00 5.4000 .89443 5
6.00 5.3333 .81650 6
Total 4.9091 .94748 33
Sciences 1.00 4.8000 .83666 5
2.00 5.6667 1.36626 6
3.00 4.8000 1.09545 5
4.00 5.0000 .89443 6
5.00 5.1667 .75277 6
6.00 5.0000 .70711 5
Total 5.0909 .94748 33
Total 1.00 4.7273 .82703 22
2.00 5.0000 1.19523 22
3.00 4.8182 .95799 22
4.00 4.9545 .78542 22
5.00 5.3913 .72232 23
6.00 5.2857 .78376 21
Total 5.0303 .90747 132
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Figure 1. Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers’ academic orientation by their Department
(Discipline) and Educational District
A Univariate Analysis of Variance, (Researchers’ Discipline (Department)/Educational District X
Academic Orientation of teachers) was applied in the attempt to test the null hypothesis which had stated that
“there is no significant difference in the academic orientation of Lagos State Lagos Junior Secondary School
teachers’ irrespective of their discipline and the educational district where they work.”
The results indicated that there was no significant main effect for the Departments (academic
disciplines) of Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers, F (5, 108) = 1.800, p > .05, ŋp
2
= .077, 95% CIs
[4.654, 5.279], [4.860, 5.485], [4.510, 5.235], [4.760, 5.385]. This is a medium effect indicating that the factor
accounts for 8% of the total variability in the dependent variable scores. The result revealed that statistical power
for this analysis was .15 for the detection of medium effect sizes (see Tables 2 & 4). The confidence interval that
was observed indicates that, based on the sample data, it is estimated that the true effect sizes in the population
from which the sample is taken, as regards the Departments (Discipline) of Lagos State Junior Secondary School
teachers’ academic orientation, provided support, with 95% certainty for the positive orientation claim; that is,
no significant difference occurred (see Table 1, 2, 3, 4, Figure 1, 2 & 3).
Table 2. Summary Table of estimates of the mean, standard error and confidence interval of Lagos State
Junior Secondary School Teachers’ academic orientation.
Mean Std. Error
95% Confidence Interval
Lower Bound Upper Bound
5.033 .079 4.877 5.190
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Table 3. Summary Table of Tests of Between-Subjects Effects of Junior Secondary school teachers’
discipline and educational district and their academic orientation.
Source Type III SS df MS F Sig. ŋp
2
NP OPb
Corrected Model 20.012a
23 .870 1.069 .391 .186 24.598 .776
Intercept 3316.509 1 3316.509 4076.438 .000 .974 4076.438 1.000
Educational District (ED) 1.230 3 .410 .504 .680 .014 1.512 .150
Teachers’ Discipline (TD) 7.322 5 1.464 1.800 .119 .077 9.000 .598
Educ. District * Teacher’s Discipline 11.246 15 .750 .922 .543 .113 13.823 .569
Error 87.867 108 .814
Total 3448.000 132
Corrected Total 107.879 131
a. R Squared = .186 (Adjusted R Squared = .012)
b. Computed using alpha = .05
Table 4. Table of means, standard error and confidence intervals of Lagos State Junior Secondary School
teachers’ academic orientation on the basis of their Departments (Disciplines).
Departments Mean SE
95% Confidence Interval
Lower Bnd Upper Bnd
Languages 4.967 .158 4.654 5.279
Arts/Religion 5.172 .158 4.860 5.485
Soc.SCs/Commercial 4.922 .158 4.610 5.235
Sciences 5.072 .158 4.760 5.385
.
Figure 2. Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers’ academic orientation by their Department
(Discipline).
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The estimates revealed that teachers in the Art/Religion Department had the highest academic
orientation, followed by those in the Sciences, those in the languages, and then those in the Social Sciences/
Commercial Departments (see Table 4).
The results indicated a no significant main effect for Educational District in academic orientation of
Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers, F (3, 108) = .504, p > .05, ŋp
2
= .014, 95% CIs [4.342, 5.108],
[4.626, 5.391], [4.451, 5.216], [4.756, 5.341], [5.018, 5.766], [4.892, 5.675]. This is a small effect indicating that
the factor accounts for 8% of the total variability in the dependent variable scores. The result revealed that
statistical power for this analysis exceeded .99 for the detection of small effect sizes (see Table 3, 4 & Figure 3).
Table 4. Table of means, standard error and confidence intervals of Lagos State Junior Secondary School
Teachers’ academic orientation by their educational District
Estimates
Dependent Variable:Academic Orientation (JSS Trs)
Educ. District Mean Std. Error
95% Confdnc Int
Lower Bnd Upper Bnd
1.00 4.725 .193 4.342 5.108
2.00 5.008 .193 4.626 5.391
3.00 4.833 .193 4.451 5.216
4.00 4.958 .193 4.576 5.341
5.00 5.392 .189 5.018 5.766
6.00 5.283 .197 4.892 5.675
Figure 3. Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers’ academic orientation by their Educational District
The confidence interval that was observed indicates that, based on the sample data, it is estimated that
the true effect sizes in the population from which the sample is taken, as regards Lagos State Junior Secondary
School Teachers’ academic orientation, with 95% certainty for the positive orientation claim; that is, that no
significant difference occurred.
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The level of academic orientation of exhibited by teachers in District 1 was highest for those in
Educational District 5, followed by District 6, District 2, then, District 4, 3 and 1 respectively (see Table 4).
The two main effects were substantiated however, as a no significant interaction between the two
factors was indicated, R2
= .186, F (15, 108) = .922, p > .05, ŋp
2
= .113, 95% CIs [4.877, 5.190], indicating that
the academic orientation effects were not different for the four categories of Departments for the six categories
of Educational Districts. The partial eta squared indicated a medium effect denoting that the factor accounts for
no less than 11% of the total variability in the dependent variable scores. The result revealed that statistical
power for this analysis was .57 for the detection of medium effect sizes (see Table 3).
SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Academic orientation for teachers in Arts/Religion Departments was found to be slightly higher than for all other
Departments. The next was the mean for teachers in the science disciplines, followed closely by teachers in the
Languages Department and then teachers’ in Social Sciences/Commercial studies Department’s. The range of
scores was 0.15, SD=0.111.
Similarly, the academic orientation of Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers when viewed from
the Educational Districts where they work showed a similar pattern, wherein, Educational District 5 had the
highest mean, followed closely by Educational District 6, 2, 4, 3 and then 1 respectively. The range of scores
was 0.55, SD=0.261.
In general, the classification of ratings Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers’ academic
orientation for teachers yielded a value of 5.03., which, by the rating scale of COC-B, the instrument that was
used for the study, translate to “fair” performance.
This descriptive estimates were corroborated with Univariate Analysis of Variance, which provided that
there was no significant main effect for Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers’ academic orientation
either for the Departments (academic disciplines) nor for the Educational Districts. In essence, the descriptive
report provided was substantiated. The Lagos State Junior Secondary School teachers’ academic orientation
translates to below average performance. This is contrary to expectations as it was enunciated by Abodunrin
(2003 Conceptual Orientation) who observed that the training of teachers at the Faculty of Education tilted
towards academic orientation, and Feiman-Neimer’s (1990) presentation that University schools of Education
focuses more on research ideals, threats teacher training as a social science, considers professionalization
through graduate study and devalues experience. They mainly seek to make their learners to become educational
leaders. Thus, academic orientation was enthused in the training of teachers.
This trend calls for worry as some salient questions come to mind: why are teachers not so high in
academic orientation in spite of all expectations that they should be? Why do they all perform similarly,
irrespective of the discipline or the Educational district that the serve in? Could the lower than expected
academic orientation of teachers be caused by adjunct teachers? Are the teachers taking advantage of available
information and computer technology to avail them with up to date information and equip themselves in their
subject matter? Has the prevalence of examination malpractice in schools depleted the motivation for
constructive engagement of teachers and as well their academic orientation as a projection from that?
These and many more questions prod the mind and seem to have no answers until thorough
investigation is made. These are suggested for future research attention. Considering the present situation as the
result has revealed however, urgent attention need be paid to how the academic orientation of the teachers could
be improved via undertaking retraining programmes, workshops, in-service training programmes in their specific
disciplines. This study, provide strength to the idea that teacher’s efficiency/effectiveness may be thoroughly
assessed when all the required functional areas of teaching and the teacher are carefully explored and appraised.
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Author’s Biodata
Dr Ife Abodunrin is a Lecturer at the Lagos State University, Ojo, Nigeria, where he teaches Research
Methods, Design and Data Analysis, Test & Measurement, Advanced Statistics, Use of Computer and
Psychology. He is a research consultant with particular interest in the development of research
instruments/psychological tests. He is Nigerian with two decades of career experience.
Dr Grace Okaima Oshun, is a lecturer in the Department of Educational Management, Lagos State University,
Ojo. Among the courses she teaches are Leadership Styles in Formal Organisation, and Supervision of
Instructions. Her area of research centres on female emancipation through education, especially
policies/legislation protecting the right of the girl child to education.
Folawi, R. A, M. Ed, is at the final stages of a PhD course in Sociology of Education at the Lagos State
University, Ojo.
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![Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www.iiste.org
ISSN 2422-8435 An International Peer-reviewed Journal
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72
A Wee Evaluative Study of the Academic Orientation of Lagos
State Junior Secondary School Teachers
Ife Abodunrin, PhD, Oshun G.O, PhD and Folawi, R. A. M. Ed
Faculty of Education, Lagos State Univertsity, Ojo
Abstract
This study investigated the academic orientation of Junior Secondary School teachers in Lagos, Nigeria, using
384 participants that were sampled from the States’ six Educational Districts. It focused on the quality,
magnitudes and differences existing among teachers on the basis of their discipline and the Education District
where they teach. Academic orientation for teachers in Arts/Religion Departments was found to be slightly
higher than for all other Departments. Teachers in Educational District 5 had the highest mean, followed closely
by Educational District 6. The range of scores for all the districts was 0.55, SD=0.261. In general, the
classification of ratings of teachers’ academic orientation yielded a value of 5.03, which, by the rating scale of
COC-B, the instrument that was used for data gathering, translate to “fair” performance. Using Multivariate
analysis of Variance to test the hypothesis for the study, no statistically significant difference was observed in
the academic orientation of Lagos State Junior Secondary School teacher irrespective of their discipline and the
educational district where they work. It is suggested that attention be paid to the retraining of teachers, and that
prospective teachers be trained before they take on the job if teachers would be expected to fulfil their roles in
the transformation agenda of this nation.
Keywords: Academic orientation; conceptual orientation; subject-matter specialist.
INTRODUCTION
Introduction and Background
The value of any decision made or to be made depend largely on the accuracy of information upon which it is
based. A well-defined conceptual framework, which exposes the central tasks of any given programme, is
certainly one of the best tools that would help in making teaching/learning effectiveness to be determined in a
most objective manner (Volante & Fazio (2007), Abodunrin, 2003; 2007; Volante & Earl, 2004). Effective
teachers would be those who not only love their subject but as well are enhanced to deal with a climate of
continual change in which distance learning and other teaching media will become more prevalent. They are the
ones who work to make what is now the best become the standard for all, allowing for a shift in culture so that
real team working is valued, and mutual feedback – through lesson observation or other means – is embraced as
an essential part of professional development (Grant, 2009; McBer, 2000).
It is worthy of note that at the end of their 50th
National Conference (2011), the African National Congress,
South Africa’s National Liberation Movement’s resolutions on social transformation on [education] noted that
the ongoing restructuring of education in the country is fundamental to the social, political and economic
transformation of the country and that real progress should be achieved and consolidation of achievements in this
sector be harnessed as the new millennium is being approached. Thus it was resolved
1. That all parents and communities be urged to contribute in whatever manner to the enhancement of the
quality of education in schools;
2. To engage their allies and the public at large to ensure that they support the spirit and thrust of the
norms and standards on funding of schools;
3. To convene a summit of alliance partners and progressive forces to consider a strategic approach to
budget for the education and social sector as a whole, which should also ensure that government
continues consultation with the relevant stakeholders;
4. To participate in the campaign to build the Culture of Learning, Teaching and Service, to urge their
structures to actively work towards the transformation of the schools into centres of quality
educational activity and call on all structures of civil society, especially business, to support the
schools in whatever manner possible.
These expressions indicate the passion with which peoples around the world are geared towards the
transformation of their nations, if only words could be matched with actions. However, all of these rest on the
proper training of the youths who are bound to be leaders of tomorrow. Even then, the persons who are entrusted
with the enculturation, training and modeling for the youths are the teachers in the schools. These have to enjoy
proper attention and uncompromised training if the goals set by the nations should be attained.
The training and preparation of teachers in different parts of the world are indeed similar in content but
often not in the delivery or in scheduling of content. In Germany, for example, teacher education is subdivided
into three distinct phases: (1) a course of studies completed at a university, (2) subsequent 2-year practical
training in pre-service teacher training at schools (“Referendariat”), and (3) further education for in-service](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/aweeevaluativestudyoftheacademicorientation-150704062927-lva1-app6891/85/a-wee-evaluative-study-of-the-academic-orientation-1-320.jpg)
